Struggling paging company Metrocall and its rival WebLink Wireless are both going to enter bankruptcy and will then merge, the companies announced Monday. The merger is expected to close sometime before the end of October. The new company will employ 5,000 people. The move should help reduce the companies' combined $1.2 billion in debt to about $300 million, company executives said. The Metrocall merger announcement was not a surprise. But the company had been rumored to be merging with another rival, Motient, according to sources.

The company is set to introduce software enabling business users to retrieve electronic documents via mobile phones, two-way pagers or handheld computers, marking the company's first foray into the wireless market.